I love giving parties, do you need some ideas?

[ShirleyKnot]

Hello!

If you don't know me I'm Shirley and I'm a great lover of planning parties. I do a blog about it (which I'm not going to link here, but if you look on the bloggers network for PartySpanner you'll find me)

ANYWAY

If you're chucking a do, I might be able to help - I'm not a business, I don't charge for my ideas or owt, I just love to trawl the internet find good invite ideas, games and food.

Jump in and I'll see if I can help.

Oh and teddy bear party people?

This popped up on my pinterest stuff today. Look EASY PEASY (I'd leave out the PB though.)

Do you have to use sterilised jars? Where can I get them?

Or can you just decant some if the vodka out of a bottle?

I'll join you with the Parma violets Shirl. I love them! :)

Just finished making my Halloween cupcakes. I did Spiders and Mummies. I'll upload some pictures tomorrow once the party is over. Then I can concentrate on DD's birthday for a bit. Going to order the bits over the weekend - once I've decided which plates to get, you lot are NO help whatsoever

Except on the bear recipe of course - thanks Shirley

RIGHT YOU LOT.

ARGH! HALLOWEEN party.

I'm knackered.

Geordie - no, you can use any container with an air tight lid as long as you sterilise it first. (Sterilisation via 1 x dishwasher cycle or wash in warm soapy water, dry with clean cloth (I like to air dry ) and then into an oven set at gas mark 4 for 20 mins)

You can also just poke sweeties into a vodka bottle, they dissolve quickly but I'm unsure of their keeping time.

I think about 6 months, so if you want you could open a bottle, bung some stuff in, tighten the lid, shake once a day, and see what happens?

I love your blog!

Need pics of cakes though!

They're coming!

Sneak Peek of the bottom of my oreo cupcakes

How cute is that? I love that idea, and I don't even like oreos that much. Did you have to eat the other halves of all the oreos (in the interests of science, of course!)?

Stealth - they look brilliant. I'm so chuffed - really easy to make...

And thinking about it, they're not even necessarily just Halloweeny - they'd be good for any party.

One last link for those who want to see the finished result, and then I promise to stop linking to my blog...

CAKES

oooh they're fabulous - I love the owls.

DC have a halloween party @ school today and baking contributions are "welcome" but I restrained myself (with difficulty) from doing anything because I do not have time. Fortunately I have been on work calls solidly all morning so have not been able to weaken and do last minute panic baking.

Hi, I need some very basic ideas for DS2's birthday please.

He'll be 5 in mid-November. We're having a small family party on the actual day, a Wednesday, in the evening. By that I mean us four, parents, siblings and nephews and nieces. Don't need much in the way of food, as it's really just a "tea and cake" party.

Could I have ideas please for decorations and cake. Please note: DH won't be able to help much, if at all, as he's having an operation two days before.

If I had to pick a favourite thing for DS2, it would be fire engines and firefighters. He's having the Playmobil fire station, fire engine, etc for his birthday.

I'm off work on the Tuesday so can do some prep then. I think I'll have to do most of the decorating, etc on the Tuesday evening after DS2 is in bed. I'm at work on the day and won't get in until about 5.45pm.

I know it doesn't sound much for him, but to have a big party this year with lots of other children wouldn't be his thing. Hopefully, that'll change by next year.

BTW I am probably the least artistic and creative person in the world. I could have a go at making some fire engine shaped biscuits.

Thanks for your help.

Ahhh shirley so you did show me your boobs!! And i'm stealing those owls for gruffalo party me thinks.

I've uploaded some cake photos. I forgot to get one of them on the stand though

Might have to make some more

The spiders are amazing, blathers - it's just as well the halloween party is over and done with, or I would have had to do some.

It has to be a fire engine cake, LetusPrey - you could get a pack of extra playmobil firefighters to accessorise it with and DS would get to keep them? I just googled "simple fire engine cake" and loads of videos, instructions, etc came up - you could use bought cake (blocks of madiera from supermarkets would work well) and should definitely buy the red sugarpaste ready-coloured (red is hard to get right - you always generally end up with pink) - get some black sugarpaste to make wheels, or licorice wheels.

Firefighter decorations - loads here - you could probably get them cheaper elsewhere, but if you are short of time then the "one stop shop" would probably be useful.

I think theming a small home party around his main present would be a fab idea - it will make his present all the more exciting for him and his cousins.

Stealthsquiggle - thank you so much for your ideas re the cake and the link for the party things! I have had a quick look at the link and it looks great. I'm only on iPod so teeny screen. Will go on pc over weekend to have a proper look.

I want to try to make this very special for him because he's only now at the stage where he wants a party for himself and to be the centre of attention, even if it's just with family. Up to about a year ago he was terrified of balloons - inflated or not. Don't know why I'm waffling on so much. None of this is relevant. Sorry.

hi guys

About to have a mini halloween celebration for my DS and his two little friends tomorrow (we only have a small living room so is better to keep it small). Anyway as the party was inspired partly by this thread I am just popping back to ask for any last minute party game ideas or tips? These are the games I have planned;
blind man's bluff
musical monsters
donut on string game
apple bobbing
halloween candy hunt
hide and shriek (not sure about this one as my DS is only 3 and a bit of a wuss!)
jelly worms in slime (jelly) that they have to fish out

Any other ideas? I could do with a quieter activity for them to chill out later but I might just put a Scooby Doo movie on.

BTW have you all seen this dreamy website? Bit too perfect though?! Wow. Don't think the mums on there would be impressed with my sausage and beans menu!

If you want a quiet activity you could print some halloween colouring pages from the internet and give them some crayons...

Always popular and keeps them in one place while you pour the vodka

I'm going to make orange pumpkins for DS on Monday. It's just a scooped out Orange with a pumpkin face that's been filled with jelly but I think he'll love it

Good ideas for you Gruffalo party on there DW.

Thanks for the link Greedygirl

Oh christ thats a lot to live up to. Ive got 30 uncouth adults coming. If i present a quaint table like that it'll end up crumbs and tumbleweed going by.

It looks beautiful but everyone would just hate your guts for being too, too perfect DW!

Hi Shirleyknot, apologies if you have already answered this question to someone else, your thread has got so big it would take me ages to read every single one over the pages and pages, so I'm gonna cut to the quick here.

My DH is going to be 40 and I really want to do something special for him. He has always said he does not like parties or surprizes, so I need some ideas on what to do for his birthday.
Thanks!

Hi ShirleyKnot

I'm a bit late to the party here but have loved reading through this thread - loads of great ideas. Just wanted to say that I'd done a couple of of the movie-making parties you mentioned (from Movieparties.co.uk) for both DD1 and DS3. First one was a pop star/X-Factor thing with two bands singing off against one another, and the second was actually for a Halloween party rather than a birthday party and was called 'The Haunted Sleepover.' You get a proper script and some ideas for special effects and that sort of thing. Kids still talk about it even if they're probably a bit old now.

Thanks also for all the Star Wars stuff - sounds like the beginnings of an idea for DS3 this year.

How was the halloween party that wasn't, Shirley?

MrsMB does he mean it (the no suprises or parties)? And how old are your DC (assuming you have any, of course)? These are deciding factors, IMHO (although who am I to know - apparently I did DH's 40th all wrong )

Hi Shirley, I am having a carebears birthday party on Saturday for my daughters (dd1 will be 4 and dd2 will be 1)

Would love any suggestions re. food, games or how to create a perfect carebear environment!!!!

I need help too please

For this year only (reception), I have decided to ask the entire class to a party in a church hall (and hope that they can?t all make it). There is only my DH and I to sort everything out. We went to a party last weekend and the food put out in a buffet style was totally ransacked by the first couple of children.

I need help with easy to prepare food ideas. I think it would be easier to have food in a bag / on a plate. Any advice?

I am planning a science party in a church hall for my 5 yo DS. I am intending to invite 30 children and so would like to keep costs down if possible. I am planning to pinch ideas that have worked for other parties and so think the following would work:

1. Blow up balloons and let kids play to settle in.
2. Science bit( 1 hour)
3. Food
4. Bit more play
5. Party bags to signal home time

Party bag - I would like to keep things gender neutral and am planning to give the children the same:

. Popping candy
. Cupcake
. Balloon
. Freddo
. Test tube bubbles /Glow stick

TYIA

Eggrules I love science parties - we did one for DS. Are you doing the science bit yourselves (in which case I have a load of ideas) or is someone doing it for you?

tea - well, everyone knows that scientists eat lunch/tea out of paper bags at their lab benches - so you could do ready-bagged teas and distribute them quickly?

party bags sound great. I couldn't agree more on gender-neutrality.